Practice Abstract

Testing ZP maize genotypes growing in different agro-ecological conditions using barley as a cover crop

PRACTICE ABSTRACT No. 1

Two trials were set in the spring of 2024 on three locations across Serbia under organic and conventional production. Locations are as follows: Zemun Polje, Pančevo, and Ruma.

Barley as a cover crop is very important because it provides conditions which are unfavorable for pests, diseases, and weed during the vegetation period.

Problems

In maize, whether sown in organic or conventional production system, as a row crop weeds are the most yield-reducing agent, which can emerge before crop establishment or during crop emergence. It is of particular importance to manage weeds, until the rows are established and there are no available spaces for weeds.

Solutions

Growing cover crops as an agro-ecological measure provides ideal conditions for further maize development. For spring crops, such as maize is, cover crops are usually planted in the summer of the previous year and terminated just before maize sowing. In doing so, the life cycle of weeds is pretty disrupted, and therefore significantly lower weed infestation occurs. In the case of weed suppressing, cover crops that quickly cover land are very helpful. Species from the Poaceae family are a good option: barley, rue, and oats. According to our previous research, barley was the best solution as cover crops for maize, therefore was chosen for growing in our trials.

Current Research

CREDIT Vibes project currently operates two experiments growing maize in different agro-ecological conditions. The core objective of research is to evaluate the biochemical properties of different genotypes grown at three different sites and to test their potential as a healthy food. The first experiment evaluates 9 genotypes: new and traditional ones, while the second one tests four genotypes which have either red, yellow, or white kernel.

Authors:

Milan Brankov (mbrankov@mrizp.rs): Maize Research Institute „Zemun Polje“, Belgrade, Serbia.

CREDIT Vibes Consortium

About CREDIT Vibes

CREDIT Vibes is a 3-year (2023-2025) project funded by Programme Horizon Twinning Western Balkans Special TWINNING GREEN-EDITING VIBES FOR FϴϴD.

CREDIT Vibes presents a cloud of Creativity, Research, Education, Development, Innovation, and Transformation (CREDIT) where the training of the highly-skilled researchers and non-research staff is the priority.

CREDIT Vibes launches healthy food/feed, a healthy eco-friendly environment, and a healthy life on a healthy planet.

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